Our Tomorrow
by Shinneth
Summary: Two interpretations of one possible future come together to make a full picture. Steven and Peridot's shared dream becomes a powerful motivation in their continued efforts to make Era 3 a new golden age for all of gemkind.


"As scheduled, sunrise commenced at 7:02 AM. Another day has come upon us once more… and Steven, bless his plasma-pumping heart. It's only fair to give him a little extra time to snooze this morning; why am I even surprised after all these years that he would _still_ insist on disrupting his sleep cycle just to give me an approximate "Happy Birthday" announcement at the highly inconvenient time of 2:55 AM?"

Peridot, adorned in a dress and an apron, scrutinized the elaborate breakfast set she had been preparing for the past hour.

"Great… now _I_ feel compelled to invest more time than usual on this breakfast routine," she grumbled. "Steven's gonna need supplementary sustenance to get through another day of work. And to think I first believed birthdays were all about treating _me_ like royalty!"

With great reluctance, Peridot added extra bacon to the frying pan. "At the very least, some extra protein will go a long way in staving off those so-called "hunger pangs" … I suppose that's one organic-exclusive experience I've never once been curious enough to inflict upon myself."

Peridot glanced at a nearby mirror and took a moment to study her appearance.

"Then again, the last thing I need is an excuse to indulge in the consumption of human cuisine," she remarked. "_Gaaah_, why in stars' name did I ever get this stupid outfit?"

The gem grumbled and removed her apron, revealing a bright, poofy red dress with white polka dots. It wasn't exactly a flattering ensemble that went well with Peridot's natural colors…

"Seriously, there's no way I could have ever believed this looked _good_ on me!" Peridot grumbled. "I don't even remember getting this… it must have been some kind of Christmas gift from Pearl. That, or a prank from Amethyst… Lapis is too much of a fashionista to dare commit a crime of this caliber just for the sake of trolling me. What was I thinking, picking this to wear? I'll be the laughing stock of the entire family…"

Just then, the dress inexplicably changed. Peridot was understandably startled for a moment when she witnessed her own ensemble morph in style and shift in color to something… _much_ more suitable for her frame, even if it was still a pretty cheesy stereotypical housewife ensemble. This time it was a bit more of a modest dress of solid, shimmering forest green with very subtle rose-colored accents.

"… And here I thought I knew everything there was to know about my willpower!" Peridot laughed out in amusement. "Ah, I didn't even do that on purpose… but it's a _vast_ improvement. If I question it too much, it might turn back, so…"

She just put her apron back on and smirked before turning her attention back to the many breakfast courses simultaneously cooking on the stove. After taking a whiff of the air, Peridot smiled contentedly.

"The aroma indicates the sustenance is ready to be served," Peridot observed as she turned off each burner on the stovetop. "Now, the fun part… distributing the meals and ensuring my endeavors of offering this crucial morning nutrition are not squandered by anyone."

The technician sprinted over towards the hallway. She remembered she would let Steven get in a bit of extra sleep, so she quickly soundproofed the master bedroom before bellowing out a call she'd done so many times in her life…

"_**HEY, CLODS! BREAKFAST SERVINGS ARE ABOUT TO COMMENCE! REPORT TO THE DINING ROOM POSTHASTE!"**_

And just like that, Peridot turned back to return to the kitchen with a knowing smirk on her face as she both heard and felt the beginnings of a storm of pattering feet hitting the floor.

As Peridot started to fill up the slew of empty dishes already prepared on the kitchen counter with the finished meals (though interestingly, no one plate had the exact same contents), she glanced to the side just in time to see a stampede of little tiny sentient pumpkins rush over to their feeding trough, which she of course prepared before anything else this morning. When she saw the much larger and conspicuously-colored Pumpkin bringing up the rear, Peridot was beyond overjoyed. After all these years, her beloved pet was still just as youthful and energetic as she was the day Steven first brought her to life.

In hindsight, it was probably a good thing White Diamond (Celadon, more accurately, though only the White part of that fusion had any true involvement with the act) killed Pumpkin that fateful final day of Homeworld's existence. With Iridescent Diamond's life-granting miracle, Pumpkin now had a lifespan _much_ longer than she would have had naturally. Peridot was well aware that without it, Pumpkin would likely have died of natural causes at least a decade ago.

Yet, here she was, happy and healthy even at her old age, and now a loving mother herself.

"C'mere, you!" Peridot squealed as she paused her food distribution to bend down and embrace her first "child". "You know you don't _need_ to eat; isn't there something you wanna say to me today?"

After a few enthusiastic barks from the sentient pink fruit, Peridot laughed and squeezed her lovingly.

"That's _right_, Pumpkin! It _is_ your Mama's birthday!" Peridot joyously commended as Pumpkin promptly licked her face. "Aww, I can always count on you to never forget that. You're gonna be a good girl and make sure your offspring don't break my stuff today, right?"

Pumpkin barked out with resolve, seemingly understanding the request and looking very resolute.

"Well, you're a better maternal unit than I'll ever be," the gem acknowledged… she _wished_ she was kidding. "I have absolute faith you'll keep them under control. You'd better make sure they're all sticking to just _their_ meals just in case, though." She smirked knowingly at Pumpkin. "Believe me; no matter how innocent they seem on the surface, children can be absolute savages."

Pumpkin seemed to understand what Peridot was trying to communicate and trotted off to perform her motherly duties. Peridot wasted no time resuming filling up the remaining plates as she heard another (much _louder_) storm of feet pounding the floor, followed by a collection of various noisy voices.

Peridot was glad she had the foresight to soundproof Steven's bedroom.

Although this was basically part of a daily routine, Peridot never tired of taking a moment to calmly and carefully observe each child that passed by her in the kitchen as they made a beeline for the table.

It was funny to reflect on how not too long ago, this gem never projected something like this to be her future. It seemed so distant, out-of-place… and absolutely _not_ meant for her. The further Peridot's mind went back, the more astonishing it felt to be where she is now. To think, being the kind of gem she was, that a life like this was within _any_ Peridot's reach, let alone one who spent the first decade-plus of her life being a cruel, callous sociopath who didn't value life in the least.

That very same gem had now created life – _many_ lives, in fact.

Peridot swore her entire being glowed with sheer radiance when the smallest life broke away from the pack and carefully walked into the kitchen and came her way.

"_Allie!"_ Peridot joyously cried out as she knelt down and embraced the child, who had managed to reach her goal without falling or even stumbling once. "Oh, stars be praised! You're already so well-coordinated, and you just started walking last week!"

Allie smiled widely and giggled, returning her mother's affection as Peridot eventually stood and held her little girl securely in her arms. "Mornin', Mamadot."

Just the sound of her voice made Peridot cry out with joy as she tried her best not to smother her youngest daughter.

Said daughter looked to be no older than a toddler. Allie inherited her mother's light chartreuse hair, but it was a bouncy mess of her father's curls; not a bit of it was angular. Her skin was olive-toned and she was a bit on the chubby side – it was too early whether or not to say if that was another daddy-trait. What certainly was were her piercing dark brown eyes and her ever-present smile. However, the tourmaline gemstone she was born with was set right where her mother's was: on her forehead.

"Happy Berffday, Mamadot," Allie cooed out in response to this overwhelming affection.

In that moment, Peridot felt she was about to poof from the overwhelming surge of joy that coursed through her body. She couldn't help but actually shed tears of pure happiness while holding on to her youngest child for dear life.

"_**OH MY STARS!**__"_ Peridot cried out loud enough to get _everyone's_ attention. "Allie, how'd you know?! That's _astounding!_"

"Way to ruin it for the rest of us, Aline," muttered one of the elder children; this one bore skin that matched her jaded personality. "You were _supposed_ to say that with all of us at once. Now _Mamadot's_ gonna think we're just riding off your coattails."

Peridot's confusion faded into annoyance when she noticed the elder sister's words took away her baby's smile. "Presumptive; thy name is Chrys. She's _two_, you know. And a precious jewel on top of that; you must be more cautious with your choice of verbiage."

"Yeah, you've made it no secret that she's your favorite," Chrys muttered. "That's why she'll get all of the credit for someone else's idea, of course."

"I didn't say that at all," Peridot firmly told her child as she started utilizing her willpower to make the various plates of breakfast float over to their proper customer. With Allie making Peridot's metaphorical heart melt like this, the technician simply wasn't in the mood to deliver breakfast the old-fashioned way this time. "In fact, I didn't expect any of you to acknowledge the date of my emergence…"

This confused another gem; she wiped a lock of poofy sugar pink hair from her eye to look directly up to her mother. "Mamadot, when you say "emergence", you're referring to when you came out from a rock, right? Not another gem's tummy?"

"Correct, Trini," Peridot affirmed. "Yes, in my case it's more of an "Emergence Day", but it doesn't roll off the tongue very well… and it's the full-gem equivalent, so it's not _entirely_ inaccurate."

"He didn't want us to say anything, but Papa kinda brought it up to us yesterday after dinner," yet another gem muttered; this one had hair of auburn and skin close to her mother's shade, but did not wear her gemstone on her forehead like the majority of her siblings. Hers instead rested in her navel like her father's. "And he promised us something really cool if we behaved ourselves today, so…"

"_Wow_, thanks for being the family's resident snitch yet again, Liv," the ochre-toned Pallas muttered, dripping with pure sarcasm. "We can't talk about _anything_ with a loose-lipped clod like you waiting in the wings to kill our fun."

Peridot smiled at her children. "Hey, your secret's safe with me," she assured them. "After all, I soundproofed his bedroom so he could sleep in a little this morning. Your fun times he promised are safe and sound; no need to worry about a thing!"

However, the hybrid children didn't look the least bit relieved to hear this; if anything, they _all _looked full of concern and dread now.

There were a variety of reasons for this that came to Peridot's mind right away; in all these years, she _still_ couldn't tell a convincing lie to save her life, and she was no better at hiding anything from those who even remotely knew her. Plus, Steven's built-in aura lie detector made it completely possible for Peridot to keep anything secret for long even if she _didn't_ put on a transparent act of feigning ignorance. Still, upon hearing Allie making sounds of excitement after being quiet for so long in her arms while her elder siblings took turns speaking, she had a feeling what the answer was…

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

Right on cue, her youngest child's cooing was met with that of a grown man's, whose arms wrapped around both mother and daughter. Both were held close and securely by a warm body much larger than their own combined.

"Good mooooooorning, everybody!"

Even though Steven had the voice of a full-grown man now, his tone would make one think he hadn't aged a day since his mid-teens.

"Good morning, Papa..."

Most of the time, the children were much more enthusiastic greeting their father every day. Considering the current circumstances, they were understandably just a bit uneasy.

"Aw, c'mon, relax," Steven urged. "I'm not gonna let you all take it out on Liv, so you're still gonna get that field trip to the moon like I promised!"

Every hybrid child audibly sighed out a breath of relief with that confirmation. Peridot couldn't help but eye her husband with some degree of scrutiny, however.

"All the way up there, huh? I don't recall any demand for this; I could have taken you all there any time." Peridot narrowed her eyes and deepened her gaze. "Any reason you need to be up on the lunar surface with our precious offspring without me, Steven?"

"Well, I never said _I'd _be going with," Steven slyly told her. "I was thinking the kids could spend some time with their favorite aunts today; you've had to spend a lot of your past birthdays being a full-time Mamadot, which you've also been doing year-round since Pallas was born. Everyone agrees you've put in enough years to _really_ earn a full day off from that never-ending job; even Pearl's super-proud of how much you've been exceeding her expectations."

The last detail blew Peridot's mind more than anything else. "_Wow._ I know Pearl's never one to give me praise unless it's absolutely indisputable that I deserve it. Would've been nice to hear that from her, though…"

"Well, I'll admit it's been a tad difficult swallowing my pride down enough to tell you face-to-face, but at this point, I suppose you've done more than enough to prove I should get over myself and finally give you that seal of approval you've sought from me for so many years."

A gaping Peridot turned her head to indeed see that Pearl had come in through the front door, and she didn't come alone: Garnet, Lapis, Amethyst, and Bismuth were also by her side. _All _of the kids eyes lit up with excitement.

"All I ever wanted was for Steven to be happy, and I know he'd never trade this wonderful family for anything in the world," Pearl genuinely expressed. "And I have you to thank for that, Peridot. So, in recognition of your accomplishments, I'd be honored to alleviate some of the daily stresses of your motherhood."

Garnet nodded in agreement. "After what you and Steven have done for making the Era 3 program a success here on Earth, as well as bringing peace to the Homeworld colonies, on top of your accomplishments in motherhood, it was unanimously agreed that you deserved a break. You've come a _very_ long way from where you were when Era 3 began, to say nothing of your progress since becoming a Crystal Gem."

While it was reasonable at the time for Peridot to panic over having to do too much work too quickly during the official start of Era 3, she eventually mellowed out and started to gradually sacrifice more and more of her free time to the project with very minimal complaining. Only when the majority of Homeworld gem refugees stabilized and fully acclimated to Earth did Peridot finally think to indulge into more self-centered aspirations, such as marriage and children of her own.

"The lunar elevator system has also been running very efficiently since its completion, so you have no need to worry about how we'll manage to introduce this new generation to their first extraterrestrial trip," Garnet added with a smile. She didn't need to tell Peridot how much of her own time she sacrificed to make that method of transportation a reliable alternative to her or Lion's teleporting.

"Th-that's such a generous gift," Peridot whined with glee as she clung to Allie. "Pearl, Garnet… thank you so much. I-I mean, I don't want to overlook your sentiments, but hasn't the new school year already started back up…?"

Chrys nodded to her mother. "Just started late last week," she confirmed. "But the first couple of weeks are mostly orientation and nothing we're really missing out on. Plus, Ms. Maheswaran already made sure to give her blessing on everyone's behalf."

"Yeah, I figured she'd be lenient," Steven remarked with amusement.

"And don't worry about plannin' your own stinkin' party for the umpteenth year in a row," Amethyst said to her fellow gem while pointing in her direction. "Don't think just handlin' the kiddos is the present; heck, that's really more of a present for _us_ than anything else. We're holding that off until evening, though. So you've got a whole day to kick back and do whatever you want, P-Dot."

Peridot almost felt faint; for once, she wouldn't have to worry about the details of her own birthday party… and she would actually _get_ one, to boot. There had been a few years where the party had to be foregone due to various unforeseeable circumstanced.

"Aw, Amethyst…" She was so overcome with emotion, it completely slipped Peridot's mind to put her on the spot for the awful-looking dress her ensemble once was. "I–I don't even know what–"

"You don't gotta say a thing, hun," Bimsuth assured her. "Heck, if you really feel you have to, that can wait until the party. We're just burnin' daylight with the pleasantries right now. You kids able to take that breakfast to go?"

Peridot smiled and took a few seconds to concentrate; before everyone's eyes, the breakfast spread out on the dinner plates became sealed away and packed up in individual bags. Each bag was even helpfully labeled with a name.

"Cool!" Pallas remarked as she promptly stood up and grabbed her bag. "Thanks, Mamadot! I'm calling dibs on Auntie Bismuth!"

That caused a few of her siblings to groan a bit; Bismuth unsurprisingly was the favorite aunt among the majority of Peridot and Steven's children.

"_Fine_," Chrys grumbled. "I'm claiming Auntie Amethyst!"

The rest of the children were quick to pick their favorite "aunt", or at least the closest to that once the "good picks" were claimed. Liv paired up with Garnet while Trini went with Pearl.

That left Lapis by herself, but not for long. All smiles, she already knew which of the children she'd be tagging along with. She approached the loving couple holding their youngest.

"Heh, way to make me look like a shady kidnapper, guys," Lapis said in jest as she smirked knowingly. "Don't know why I'm surprised; you two are always like this with your kids when they're super-young. We see you almost every day, and that hasn't changed since you two started popping out offspring."

"Oh, Lapis! We know you'll guard Allie with your life," Steven assured. "It's just hard at first for our gems before they're old enough to go to school…"

"Plus, she's probably the clingiest offspring of them all," Peridot mused… just as Allie proved her wrong by showing immediate interest in Lapis the second the toddler got a good look at the ocean gem.

"_Wapis!"_ She immediately turned all of her attention to the honorary aunt and raised both arms towards her; chocolate eyes sparkling brightly with excitement.

Peridot was visibly a bit miffed by this. "Way to make me look like an idiot, Allie… I think that's a new record in how quickly a child of mine turned traitor on me in favor of an aunt."

"If it makes you feel better, she's likely drawn in by the jewelry," Lapis smugly offered as she gladly accepted the young hybrid gem into her arms. Within seconds, she seemed to be right on the money as Allie immediately put a hand on her necklace. "Heh; there you go. Kids really dig shiny things, don't they?"

"I know I did," Steven admitted as he fondly thought back on his childhood. "What's not to like?"

Peridot couldn't help but smile again as she watched her youngest child being not only enamored with Lapis' accessories, but generally looking comforted in the hold of her former roommate. Their relationship had many bizarre twists and turns since that fateful day when they both met Jasper, but through the many, _many_ hard times, both came out on the other end as friends. Steven was a big reason why the two hadn't fallen out many times over the years, of course; it was hardly a surprise that Lapis elected to be a godmother of their children after everything the three had been through.

"Just don't let Allie break anything," Peridot urged. "I-I'll be sure to mend what I can, but…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Lapis rolled her eyes, but her smirk never faded. "You two'd better make the most of this time while you still have it. It might be half a century before we're feeling this generous again; by then you two might already have a completely empty nest… assuming your little Tourmaline will be the last one, that is."

The heavy blushes on Steven and Peridot's faces were indicative enough that Lapis had fully accomplished her mission.

"I can sweeten the deal if you'd like," Lapis offered as she caught sight of the herd of tiny pumpkins shepherded by the oh-so familiar matriarch. "For old times' sake, how about you let me do my part in looking after Pumpkin, Peri? Can't imagine how long it's been since _her_ family had a vacation."

It was so easy to forget that Lapis _was_ a significant figure in Pumpkin's life these days; she of course was nowhere near as attached to the sentient squash as her former roommate – in fact, Lapis often poked fun at Peridot for her cheesy maternal instincts back in the day – but nonetheless, Pumpkin was always visibly downtrodden if a few days passed by without Lapis coming by for a visit.

Thankfully, even after all these years, the Crystal Gems _did_ still technically live together. The beach house and the Crystal Temple had undergone so many expansions, remodeling, and revisions, that the establishments bore little resemblance to how they appeared for so many millennia nowadays. The home base was utterly massive and spanned across the majority of the beach outside the Beach City limits, as well as up the hill where the lighthouse stood.

Everyone had managed to meet halfway in this endeavor; Peridot and Steven had their own wing dedicated to their family now, and their fellow Crystal Gems – while not popping out kids like it was going out of style – were given similar quarters. Places they could decisively identify as _their_ domain while still living under the same roof as their fellow tenants.

"Pumpkin has certainly missed you," Peridot agreed, unable to hold in her overwhelmingly emotional tone. "You already know we trust you wholeheartedly, Lapis. And they all certainly look eager for an excuse to get out of the house today…"

Lapis nodded; her smug faded to a genuine smile. "It'll be great to catch up with her, then. Looks like Aline's all for letting them tag along, too."

"Pumkin comes too!" Allie loudly proclaimed. "I wan' all my pumkins with me!"

"I'm not about to tell _her_ no," Steven assured. "That never leads to a good ending. Thanks for doing all this, Lapis. Can't wait to see what you'll have to show off for Peri this year at the party!"

"I'm never one to disappoint on that front," Lapis confidently assured. "We'll be back to check on you two around sundown, okay? Until then…"

She casually waved to the married couple; Allie followed suit while a trail of sentient pumpkins followed the pair out the front door, and just like that, the house was almost completely empty.

Just then, Peridot snapped out of it as a pertinent question came to mind. "W-wait, hold on. Steven, unless I'm mistaken, you're scheduled to _work_ today…"

To that, Steven couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Dot, Connie got _all _of the kids able to take a day off school; you really don't think I could do the same thing for my own job? I've had something like this planned out _months_ ahead of time…"

"O-oh. So… so the two of us really _do_ have the house to ourselves today," Peridot realized as her blush returned. "Stars, this is _not_ how I pictured how this morning would pan out in the least. I, uh… I have a pretty good idea of what we'll be spending much of the day _doing_. Steven, it would be pertinent of you to at least spend a little time fulfilling your nutritional needs this morning…"

"_Nah…_ I think _you'll_ be _plenty_ filling enough, Dot."

Somehow, the teal blush deepened even further across Peridot's cheeks. "S-Steven, you know very well anything that you consume from _my_ body will pale to the nutritional value of those crunchy, grease-laden strips of pork–"

Steven was quick to shut his wife up with a kiss.

"… on second thought… I _suppose_ it won't hurt to deviate from your sustenance-based routine for just one day," Peridot conceded, unable to resist swooning as Steven effortlessly scooped his wife up into his arms, carrying her similarly to how she had been carrying Allie moments ago. "I should know better, trying to say "no" to you… out of everyone in the known cosmos, you're the only one who truly knows how to change my mind."

"You gotta have _some_ weak point, Dot," Steven teased her. "Without one, you're just too overpowered. And as much as you like being the one to take charge in life…"

Peridot couldn't help but smile, unable to hide how purely enraptured she was in this moment. "By all means… relieve me of the toll this power trip has taken on my mind and body. My sweet center of gravity deserves to pull me in and hold me down. Don't let me escape."

Steven couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Only you could find a way to make that phrase sound totally perverted. You sure you want me taking charge, here? I _might_ be a little demanding; I'm in a weird kinda mood…"

"Oh, _do_ elaborate," Peridot requested in a sultry tone. "Previews of what's to come _are_ often effective in moistening my nether regions."

"It's not exactly something I planned for a while," Steven admitted. "I just got a weird feeling. Allie's old enough to actually take out to places now with the rest of the kids. Now that Pumpkin and her babies aren't here, it's kinda uncomfortable and empty-feeling in the house, even though I've got you…"

It didn't take Peridot long to piece this together.

"I have a strong idea of what you're attempting to communicate with me," she eagerly said after offering her spouse a quick kiss. "But I'd like to hear it from you directly, Steven. Just in case I'm misinterpreting something as I often do, of course."

That was a blatant lie; Steven didn't need to use his aura to cheat and figure that out.

"Peri, you know _exactly_ what I want," Steven asserted as he held the small gem tightly against his chest. "Another one… can we _pleeeeeeease_ have another one?"

Peridot smirked; of course she anticipated this.

"Well, our dining table came with seating for eight individuals, and having that lone empty chair in the corner _has_ been bothering me for a while," she slyly answered. "I suppose I can accommodate your request. I trust you'll perform adequately enough to induce conception."

Following another deep kiss, Steven stifled another laugh. "Be careful what you wish for, Dot. You know I'm gonna count on you to be our back-up just in case…"

That statement made Peridot shiver down to her very core; she swore she felt her entire body flush teal in that moment.

"Y-you are an absolute madman of a clod!" she cried out. "But in light of our present circumstances, I _suppose_ we can do this both ways if that's what you really want! I-it should cover all bases, and–"

Steven silenced his wife once more with a series of kisses, and this time, that shut her up for good. In the midst of making out, he inched his way backwards until reaching the master bedroom… at which point, Peridot started getting a bit overzealous on her end with the kiss fest and inadvertently knocked Steven (and herself) directly over the bed.

Luckily for them, it didn't matter if they were too preoccupied to close the door like they usually did in this situation; this time, there was no need to.

At some point during the daytime of this particular anniversary of Peridot's emergence, yet another new life was created that day.

* * *

Steven's eyes snapped open to see the dark orange tint of the evening sky. The twitch he felt in his left hand indicated that Peridot had also regained consciousness. Her breath was audibly just a _bit_ shaky…

"H-heh… please tell me I didn't overload you there, Peridot."

Her fingers remained interlocked between Steven's, but the gem managed to silently sit up from her position. The abrupt vision shift from an adult Steven sucking her breath away to the calm, distant waters of the Atlantic Ocean served as a soothing aesthetic while she tried to form coherent thoughts that could be used as proper responses to her boyfriend.

"You're… you're okay, right?" a concerned Steven asked as he sat up with her. "I– _wow_."

Both seeing the expression on Peridot's face and reading how she felt in his moment nearly made him fall over again from the shock of the intensity.

"You… gave them names. Faces. Personalities."

Peridot sounded nearly breathless when she said that; her eyes were still cast out towards the sea as she tried her hardest to remain calm. Steven couldn't help but notice Peridot's grip on his hand tightening with every word she said.

"W-was it really a bad idea to mix our dreams together like this?" Steven nervously asked. "I-I know you were kinda skeptical about it, but I didn't think it'd–…"

He was surprised when Peridot's free hand reached over to cover his mouth. The technician was finally facing her boyfriend; her expression was almost unreadable, given how many powerful emotions were flowing through her in this moment.

"They were nothing more than amorphous blurs in my dream," she quietly told him. "_Everything_ was so beautiful; my dream looked so ordinary, but you… your version somehow… made it all _enchanting_. Your version of the dress I wore… even _that_ was amazing. I'm trembling just thinking about it, Steven…"

Steven finally let himself smile; he feared the worst, but it seemed Peridot was simply overwhelmed in the best way possible. He wasn't sure when he'd even seen his girlfriend this shaken… at least, in a _positive_ way.

"Don't sell yourself short, Dot; your version had a lot of details mine didn't, too," he gently reminded her. "That was our dreams combined to make a super-dream, y'know? It even blew _me_ away, and I've had this dream so many times over the past year… this one still felt like a brand new experience, somehow."

Peridot nodded in agreement. "I'll… admit I _vastly_ underestimated how powerful this proposal of yours could be. Steven, is it possible to expire from an overload of joy? The moment I saw myself when I picked up…"

She was too shaken to even speak the name of the daughter she and Steven dreamed up.

"I told you a bunch of times that I've never seen a happier you than the happy Mamadot in my dreams," Steven reminded her with a bit of a smirk. "Now you finally get it… and I'm psyched I was finally able to share that with you."

"How in stars' name did I end up with the best human being this planet has to offer?!" Peridot cried out as she embraced her boyfriend. "It's _so_ cliché, but why do I so badly want this to be our real future?!"

"Because no matter how cheesy it is, you know that's as close to a perfect life anyone could ever get," Steven answered as he readily embraced the small gem. "And I'll admit… I think I'd like a future like that, too. Because it isn't just us; _everyone's_ happy. Me, you, Pumpkin, all our friends, and even all those refugees we're still trying to get adjusted to Earth."

In that moment, Steven couldn't resist looking a bit bashful. "I'll admit, I didn't think you'd take so well to my interpretation of the "blurs" in your head. I thought for sure you'd call me a stupid clod or something, like they're not right or not worthy of being–"

"Steven, don't you dare finish that sentence!" Peridot cried out. "I loved _all_ of them! Even that cynical little bratty one… every single one of them was the image of pure _perfection_. I just feel… wrong for not having any input. I couldn't give them a voice, an appearance, or even a name… I was so ashamed of them for the longest time…"

"They probably wouldn't have existed if you didn't tell me about your dream in the first place," Steven assured the gem before calming her down with a gentle kiss. "My dream exists _because_ you told me about yours, remember? And the way ours mixed together… I think both were needed to make that super-dream possible."

Peridot tried her hardest to will away a tear from her eye. "Steven, there were little to no differences in our dreams… what on Earth did my version of the dream have that wasn't executed infinitely superiorly in _your_ version?"

"Wake _up_, Dot," Steven teased as he lightly knocked her head with his free hand. "I just said my dream wouldn't exist without yours! I never ever had my version of the dream _until_ you told me about yours in that message, remember? The last one you made when you thought you were gonna die on Homeworld?"

After everything that had been going on over the past year, Peridot was stunned to realize she had completely forgotten about ever making the series of video logs that were essentially elaborate confessions and final farewells before that fateful first rescue mission to Homeworld. The contents of her daydreams were one of the few secrets of Peridot's that truly remained that way, and to this day remained between herself and Steven.

"… Oh, those…"

"Yep." Steven smirked and nodded. "That's how I found out about that dream in the first place. That's how I could make my own version of it. Maybe it was prettier to look at, but it needed your foundation to exist in the first place. You really shouldn't feel bad about your versions of the kids not looking like anything, Peridot. The fact that you dreamed of us having kids at all was **really** bold. We weren't even together yet, you know? But you had it in you to admit you thought that much about a future with you and me together. That's… really brave of you, Peridot."

Peridot wasn't sure she could handle high praise like this; and she was a notorious _fiend_ with a life-long addiction to it. "Y-you're certain it wasn't just desperation or some form of obsessive behavior?!"

"One of the best things about you is how _real_ you are, Peridot," Steven told her. He expected her confused look following that statement and preemptively clarified his point. "Every time you talk about how you feel about me, you're always completely honest. You're not exaggerating anything or just telling me stuff I wanna hear. Even when you try to lie, you never can, because you make it so obvious there's something about the truth that makes you too nervous to just say it. But you don't even need to say it; just by looking at you, I can tell how you're really feeling. So when you first told me about this… I honestly couldn't stop thinking about it. And it inspired me to make my own version of your dream. I hoped one day I'd get to share it with you; help make you happy like you made me with yours. Realize the true vision…"

Steven then blushed as he admitted the full extent of his feelings. "And maybe, by putting our visions together… we'd finally get the full picture; what we were meant to see from the start. After what we just saw… I'd like to think that's exactly what happened. It really makes me wish the future was now. And I can tell just by looking at you… that whatever I added to the dream you made for us, it helped a lot."

Peridot timidly nodded. "It was… very inspiring…"

"And you're not ashamed of it anymore," Steven pointed out. "You're _proud_ of it, like you always should've been. None of this would've been possible without you, Dot. And I guess… after last year, I'm glad I could finally… give you a present that wasn't a total flop…"

Peridot gasped when she saw Steven wipe a tear from his eye. Immediately, she embraced the young man even tighter than before; her fingers clung deeply to his light pink varsity jacket.

"Steven Universe, don't you dare even _think_ about faulting yourself for that alone!" she demanded in her more familiar bold and confident tone. "I was every bit as much a defective romantic partner as you that night, but you know what? That's okay!"

"… It **is**?" Steven wasn't surprised to hear Peridot readily take her share of the blame for last year's birthday blunder, but the last statement was a bit more unexpected.

"Most assuredly!" the gem affirmed before giving him a kiss. "Because _this_… Steven, what you just gave me now… this is so much more powerful than a mere attempt at coitus could ever be! Even if our attempt was successful back then, the experience would still pale in comparison to what you just showed me today!"

Apparently, something in the universe better than sex existed, and Steven inadvertently gave it to Peridot here and now for her birthday. "… it **would**?"

"Steven, when you look at it realistically, intercourse is _not_ that special of a birthday present," Peridot adamantly told him. "I imagine it's quite a common one, and while the experiences may vary, the intent in engaging in such an activity always boils down to just a few core objectives. Often, love isn't even in the equation. But your gift this year, Steven… I imagine most could never offer something like it to begin with. There was so much _heart_ and _soul_ in our combined production, and… dare I say it, the collaboration actually inspired _hope_."

"It did?" Steven was astounded to hear this. It wasn't the kind of praise his girlfriend readily gave for anything or anyone.

Peridot nodded; she was more than happy to offer Steven the same reassurance he just bestowed on to her. "That for everything we're struggling with right now, be it how we're running Era 3 or our sullied reputation since this time last year, it really _will_ get better for us. It won't happen overnight, but I can really see ourselves pulling through on helping all of these wayward gems embrace being citizens of Earth! We'll redeem ourselves fully in the eyes of the Crystal Gems, and now that I've seen the variety of wonderful sentient beings that could become part of our lives one day, I just… I just _know_ when the time is right, we'll come together and make it happen somehow. And by this time next year, we'll truly be ready to go through with what we attempted the year before. Because we have a _vision_ now… a tangible goal worth fighting for!"

Whenever his girlfriend got this fired up, Steven couldn't help but wholeheartedly believe her. He nodded along, smiling widely with shimmering eyes.

"I can tell you see it as well," Peridot warmly noted. "Odds are extremely low that a life like that will come our way _that_ soon, but you taught me a long time ago that you can't rush perfection. Our imaginary selves delayed this endeavor for a reason; I'm compelled to believe there was sound advice subtly laid out in that possible future of ours. Considering what we attempted to rush into last year, it _had_ to be a sign of some sort: in order to have such wonderful offspring, _we_ need to improve ourselves as individuals first."

"We gotta grow up someday," Steven understood. "Even though everything that happened since the Homeworld disaster makes it feel like we're both already way more grown up than we were back then, I… yeah. We've still got a long way to go."

Peridot smirked. "Well, it's more of a figurative sense of "growing up" for myself, of course. But, yes… I suppose we should value what remains of our formative years. The more life experiences we accrue, our naivete dwindles, and we cannot simply pretend to be ignorant and immature as we genuinely have been for the majority of our existence. The progress we've made since the final days of Homeworld… I feel that's an approximation that can only be made in _parsecs_, Steven. But it still isn't enough; at no point in our lives will we ever achieve a level so high that we cannot continue to improve ourselves. I'm certain even our well-matured idealized selves are striving to become better beings despite their many accomplishments every single day."

"I believe it," Steven agreed. "You know what's funny, though? I've told you how you were always an interesting gem that stood out from all the rest because of how much you've been able to really _change_; the ones I grew up with barely changed at all despite everything that's happened, and the story's the same with Bismuth and even Lapis. Most of her changes were from what _we_ did for her. But in the short time we saw the others… Peri, didn't they seem a little more grown-up themselves?"

"Pearl certainly did," Peridot noted with great amusement. "Which is interesting, since she strikes me as the kind who would resist change harder than anyone else. Everyone certainly seemed at peace with their lives, though; I'm certain in that world, there are no longer any corrupt or pallid gems, either. I suppose you're implying our own maturity influenced them, correct?"

Steven grinned as he nodded. "Didn't they look really eager to take care of the kids for us? It's weird to picture them being that psyched about it today, but… I guess they might be the first hybrids since I came around."

"I've often gotten the impression that the Crystal Gems feel they could have done better for you," Peridot admitted. "Short of feeling bad in hindsight for getting Pumpkin involved in our mission last year, I didn't really comprehend why or how they felt that way… but I suppose it's easy to forget we gems weren't really meant to have maternal instincts of any kind. Raising you certainly must have been a purely alien concept… _I_ sure can't wrap my head around it."

"I'm not surprised," Steven remarked. "You meant it when you told me we've always been equals. I've always looked up to all the other gems in one way or another… but you? Our eyes have always been on the same level. Pumpkin's the one who's helping you understand what everyone else is feeling… I guess that's their way of helping you mature, too."

Peridot sighed out dreamily while she rested her head against Steven's shoulder. "Everyone's helping everyone these days… we definitely need it, of course. It was a joy seeing our friends so readily giving us time alone together and lightening our burden as caretakers of our offspring, I'll admit. Kind of feels like the polar opposite of how they feel about us having time alone these days, huh?"

Both of them shared a laugh at that observation despite themselves. Their transgression last year was a _massive_ breach of trust among the Crystal Gems; while it hadn't been _as_ bad as they initially feared, it had been much harder these days to have moments like this. Had it not been the 27th of August today, it was highly unlikely Steven and Peridot would have been able to set aside time for this momentous occasion.

"I promise, one day that's gonna totally blow over," Steven assured. "We screwed up big time, but at least we owned up to it. You made me proud when you decided to let Garnet know about it before we even did anything. If you hadn't done that, I think she would've been **a lot** harder on us. Even at our lowest, you were able to do something really impressive, Peri. Don't think Garnet doesn't appreciate your honestly."

Though it had been a year, Peridot still couldn't help but cringe a bit every time that moment was brought up. Steven's words made it much easier for her to stomach this time, at least.

A very similar issue with a certain relative of hers crossed Peridot's mind just then… but she decided to pass on bringing it up. _That_ controversy was much more of a sore spot with plenty of tension between the opposing parties. And the last thing the technician wanted was to sully this perfect, enlightening moment with Steven with much more unpleasant obstacles yet ahead of them.

Steven picked up traces of those thoughts through Peridot's emotions… but he respectfully let it slide the moment he saw his girlfriend did _not_ want to go there today.

"Yes… I'm relieved I even had the foresight to take responsibility for our actions," Peridot shyly said. "Normally, such impulses don't once cross my mind. But, I suppose when it really counts, my conscience will take over and force me to remember who I am now. And… in order to be a model maternal unit, I first need to ensure I can be a gem to be trusted and looked to for guidance. Both as a leader… and a teacher."

"That goes double for me," Steven sympathized. "We're in a way better position now than when we started, but… if we wanna see progress like we saw in that dream, we'll need to step up big time. I really wanna see Neo Homeworld do well; it's gonna make this adjustment process so much easier for the refugees once it's all built."

"Thankfully it's Neo Homeworld in name only," Peridot thoughtfully commented. "It would be great to see it flourish and gradually blend in with Beach City… then we'll have a true paradise of humans and gems living together, rather than simply coexisting on the same planet."

Steven had no doubt in his mind that much was achieved in their dream world; if their hybrid gem children were attending school, gemkind obviously must have reached a point where humans overall have accepted them as fellow Earthlings.

"We're gonna make it work, Peridot," Steven promised. "We're far from being alone in this. And now that we've seen what good can come out of this, I… honestly, I feel totally recharged. Like I'm ready to take on the challenge of helping all these confused gems adjust; even the stubborn ones!"

"Thinking of the gems who'll resist me and retaliate by constantly throwing my past life back into my face doesn't feel nearly as daunting as it did before," Peridot expressed, sounding surprised with her own words. "That whole mess feels light-years away from the here-and-now, after sharing that dream."

An interesting parallel crossed the gem's mind just then.

"Funny… it reminds me of my gravity stabilizers."

Steven looked curiously in her direction. "Gravity stabilizers…?" It sounded vaguely familiar; thankfully he quickly caught on to her implication. "–Oh! You're talking about those pictures of me you used to cope with the stress when you headed the mission to rescue us, right?"

"Correct. You know why I needed those to function as a leader…" Yet Peridot still felt a little self-conscious admitting this out loud. "I couldn't rely on my mind to think of you in such critical times to prevent myself from screwing everything up; my subconscious can't be controlled like that. I needed tangible imagery to consistently give myself that boost when I needed it. What we just witnessed together, Steven… I feel seeing our possible future at the start of every day will keep us from slipping away during the harder times when we're vulnerable…"

"I get what you mean." Steven really liked the idea of being able to just look at those adorable children and his radiant future wife whenever he needed it. "It's a goal we're all working towards, one way or another. Some days are gonna make it hard for us to remember what we're doing this for… and in times like that, we'll need all the help we can get. Whether it's guiding the refugees, helping them make a _real_ new home here, or being the best galactic ambassadors we can be, so the colonies don't start causing trouble…"

That last part was honestly the job Peridot dreaded the most. Not only was it insanely risky, but she and Steven would have to be in their Diamond forms to stand a chance in being taken seriously by any colony-made gems. A few certain spots had been revisited by this point in time, but they were isolated exceptions requested by certain teammates… and the gems they met were familiar faces, which helped greatly in forming a healthy relation that would forge a solid alliance. That kind of boon wouldn't be available for the vast majority of colonies scattered across the cosmos.

"We need to do all of that to ensure the kind of utopia we're imagining," Peridot acknowledged. "I honestly don't want to raise offspring in the current state of our world; I won't be able to live with myself raising them in such a tense and dangerous environment, Steven. Stars, do you realize how easily a hostile colony could capture and use one of our precious jewels as a hostage to ensure our surrender?! There's no way; absolutely _no way_ I will raise our hybrids in a world that is not fully developed, stabilized, and protected!"

While these were perfectly valid concerns, Steven couldn't help but smile. There was just something overwhelmingly heartwarming about seeing Peridot openly act like a doting mother. She had come a long way from being far too timid to even address these subjects coherently when Pink Diamond's spirit teased her over the inevitability.

"That's the right attitude to have, Peri," Steven commended. "All the more reason to work as hard as we can to make this dream come true. We know what could be waiting for us one day if we just keep at it. I think I know what we really need, now… and I'm getting a feeling you figured it out, too."

"… Pictures…"

Peridot blushed at the thought. "Obviously, we can't procure actual photographs of moments that have truly yet to happen…"

Steven smiled smugly at the small gem beside him. "Good thing I'm the luckiest guy in the whole wide world who not only got the greatest and most lovable girlfriend, but a girlfriend who's so willful, she can make things happen if she wants it _really_ bad."

"Oh, stars, do I _ever_…" Peridot looked hopefully to Steven. "I-I do have a photographic memory, but… I think I'll need your help to really make it happen, Steven. You were the master of the details of our shared dream… so I'll need you to perform a quality check to ensure the vision I'm providing is an accurate one. I don't want a single strand of hair out of place on their precious heads when I picture this, Steven. Will you–"

"Geez, you're seriously asking me whether or not I'll do something like that?" Steven couldn't help but laugh at the request. "You're _hilarious_. We're already holding hands, so let's just close our eyes and concentrate like we did last time, okay? Just calm down; let our minds link up, and we'll paint ourselves a picture together."

Peridot complied without another word. Before long, Steven could feel her consciousness alongside his own. While certain catastrophic events convinced both himself and Peridot that the latter _shouldn't_ attempt to become an adept empath, considering the potential dangers inherent with wielding their powers combined… she still had a marked improvement over the very first time their minds properly linked together, way back when they had just figured out how to form their own fusion.

With the practice they've had over the past year, Steven and Peridot could get on the same page with relative ease nowadays. For small-scale feats like this, it was harmless.

While they silently concentrated, keeping their eyes closed, a picture began to form in front of them. One that contained everybody – including the Crystal Gems as they appeared in the dream and Pumpkin with her bundle of offspring – but front-and-center, of course, were Steven, Peridot, and their five children.

… Though as the picture further developed, in the Future Peridot's arms appeared a new little bundle of joy. Presumably, the one the married couple aimed to create at the end of the dream. She was mostly wrapped in a blanket, so it was a bit difficult to make out the full extent of her details… though oddly enough, the gem embedded in the infant's navel looked suspiciously diamond-shaped.

Still, what stood out more than anything else were the set of hybrid gems in the front row: Pallasite, Chrysocolla, Olivine, Citrine… and of course, the tiny Tourmaline.

Their bright eyes and brilliant smiles would always send a message to their would-be parents: they were eager to properly come into the world and meet them… but to do that, said parents had to go above and beyond to make this world one they could live on in peace.

When Steven and Peridot opened their eyes, two framed pictures sat on their laps. The quality made them almost indistinguishable from a genuine photograph.

The silence persisted as the couple took in every detail of the picture they created together; their own mutual gravity stabilizer. Peridot and Steven's centers of gravity had evolved and expanded well beyond their imagination.

"You may have set the bar a _little_ too high this year, Steven," Peridot finally said. She was quiet, but her tone was firm. "Short of these little miracles actually becoming a reality, I don't think it's possible to provide a better gift than this."

"They'd be more a gift from you than me," Steven gently reminded her. "You're the one who'll have to suffer a bunch before they come. I'd really like to be able to find a way to share that burden with you, Peri…"

Just like that, Peridot's composure broke. The humiliating conversation with Pink Diamond came to mind _immediately_. Even more, Peridot identified Steven's last statement as more than just a superficial showing of sympathy…

"_Nyeh…?_ S-Steven, is that…" Peridot dreaded to even ask, but… "Th-that's… what Future You last said before the end of the dream… I _know_ that didn't come from my version!"

Steven just smiled and patted Peridot's shoulder in hopes of calming her down. "Ever since you told me all gems can do that – even your kind, no matter how much you inherently suck at it – I'll admit it's crossed my mind a few times. Mom made it sound like such a raw deal for you, and I didn't like the sound of that at all. It made me wanna find a way to make this more, well… _equal_ for the two of us, you know?"

This didn't do much other than make Peridot blush _harder_. "Ohmystars, Steven, _honestly!_ That topic is so embarrassing by itself to talk about! The concept of turning the tables like that… I-I wouldn't dream of doing that to you!"

"I can see why it'd shake you up, but remember that I'm feeling that way every time I think about putting _you_ through that, Peri," Steven told her. "I'm not sure if it's really possible, but… next year, when we finally do what we tried last year the _right_ way, I think I wanna make it as equal as possible for us. You think you can help me do that?"

The visuals made Peridot want to die of embarrassment, but she tried her hardest to will herself to regain her long-lost composure.

"I-I'll… certainly never let you down, Steven," she decided. Her breathing gradually started to settle down after so much borderline-hyperventilating. "A-and I suppose… that would count as a new experience, wouldn't it? We thought we exhausted all of those possibilities last year, so…"

"See? It's not so scary when you think of it like that," Steven jovially pointed out before giving his girlfriend a heartfelt embrace. "But that's a year away; we can worry about all that when we cross that bridge. For now, just remember what we got out of your birthday this year, Peridot. Think how much that's gonna help us make Earth a better place for humans and gems alike over the next twelve months!"

Just like that, Peridot felt at peace when she glanced at the children she and Steven created together with the power of their imagination.

"This really will make a difference in how we perform from here on out," she warmly acknowledged. "This… is a goal like no other."

She never imagined it would happen, but somehow, Peridot acquired a new center of gravity. About six of them, in fact.

Steven reflected his girlfriend's loving gaze at his picture before looking to the gem with a cheesy smile. "Happy Birthday, Peridot."

"You'll be kicking yourself next year the moment I tell you your present was "passable" compared to this one," she smugly shot back. "Prepare yourself to hear that repeatedly for consecutive birthdays until one of these little clods becomes more than just framed image."

"I'm sure Future Me will understand."

Though no doubt it was going to be awkward hearing something like that after finally being able to make love next year, Steven seemed to accept that he perhaps outperformed himself a little too well today.

"Honestly, I wish I could just say this was my gift to you," Peridot grumbled. "But your birthday was twelve days prior, and it would be ridiculous to hold your copy of this random for nearly an entire year just to–"

"Dot, this present couldn't have been made without you," Steven playfully reminded her. "I'll just consider it a "late" birthday present… and also the best one, okay? I doubt you're gonna have any better luck than me when it comes to besting this."

At least she knew that, though that likely wouldn't be enough to stop the technician from getting bitter at herself for not being able to consistently improve on her efforts because of this.

"Then Happy Belated Birthday despite the fact we clearly celebrated it not even two weeks ago," Peridot conceded. "And I certainly do not project myself having any future gift ideas anywhere this level of perfection; not at all. That's our burden to bear until we know for a fact that we're ready to be parental units befitting of offspring this marvelous. So, until we achieve that level of readiness…"

Peridot held out her free hand to Steven. "Here's to an improved Era 3."

Steven reached out to shake that hand, shortly before pulling the little gem in for a deep, heartfelt embrace.

"To a better Era 3."

Together, Steven and Peridot readily embraced not only each other, but their future.


End file.
